Coach Darryl Schwartz didn’t dispute that following the Devilpups’ 50-13 loss to defending state champion Plymouth in the NCHSAA 1-A East Regional final.

“I would say so,” he said. “They were good. They are a good team, they are well-coached, they were disciplined and they were just better than us.”

The final score would indicate that, although Lejeune (13-2) had its moments to stay competitive with the Vikings (14-0), who play Murphy on Dec. 14 at 11 a.m. in the state 1-A final at BB&T Field at the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem.

The Devilpups took a 7-0 lead on their first possession as senior Alex Ynfante reeled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Daxton Derrick. Lejeune’s Jamaz Richardson also returned a second-quarter kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown.

But it wasn’t enough as the Vikings prevailed and now will take on Murphy (12-3), who beat Albemarle 53-21 in the West Regional final Friday night.

“They (Vikings) just outplayed us,” Lejeune senior linebacker/fullback Stephen DiCenso said. “We just made a few mistakes here and there.”

“They played a good game,” he said, “Their offensive line was pushing. It wasn’t an easy game. They just played a good game overall.”

Still, the loss won’t overshadow the season the Devilpups had this season. Lejeune, the Coastal Plains Conference champion, reached the regional final for the first time in program history.

“I told them ‘Let’s focus on what we had accomplished this year,” Schwartz said.

Plymouth won this game in the trenches.

The Vikings outgained the Devilpups 325-125 on the ground. Senior Demetrius Davis led Plymouth with 147 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 18 carries. Senior Demarkice Price added 100 yards on 11 carries.

“It started up front with the blocking and then we got in the second level,” Plymouth coach Robert Cody said. “We moved the football pretty good on them.”

Schwartz was impressed with the Vikings’ line.

“Their line was exceptional,” he said.

Meanwhile, Richardson and the Lejeune offense were unable to sustain many drives. Richardson ended with 81 yards rushing on 15 carries.

“Their linebackers were quick to the ball,” Schwartz said.

The Devilpups’ first of just two scores came on Ynfante’s touchdown catch that was set up by Richardson’s 37-yard halfback pass to senior Brady Bodine on the game’s third play from scrimmage. Bodine’s catch moved the ball to the Plymouth 10-yard line.

“We had seen it on film but they caught us off-guard,” Cody said. “It was a heck of a play.”

Lejeune’s other score came on Richardson’s 84-yard kickoff return that brought the Devilpups to within 22-13 with 3:43 left in the second quarter.

“I had to do what I had to do,” Richardson said. “I went full speed.

But Plymouth answered each Lejeune score.

Down 7-0, the Vikings went 79 yards on seven plays in 3:21 and capped the possession on a 5-yard touchdown run by Price. Price then ran in the two-point conversion to give Plymouth an 8-7 lead.

The drive was highlighted by quarterback Malik Webb’s 34-yard pass to Chad Dance to the Lejeune 20 on third-and-nine.

“Once in a while you have to have that kind of stuff,” Cody said. “That wasn’t coaching. It was just a whole lot of athletic ability. It got us out of a jam and it set the tone.”

Plymouth then got two touchdown runs by Davis in the second quarter to take a 22-7 lead before Richardson’s kick return.

Davis then followed Richardson’s return with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to extend the Vikings’ lead to 28-13.

However, the Devilpups appeared in position to make it a one-possession game entering halftime as Lejeune reached the 1-yard line in the final minute of the second quarter.

But Derrick fumbled while trying to score on second down and the Vikings recovered at the one.

“We made some key errors here and there and they hurt us,” Schwartz said. “You can’t do that against the defending state champion. We knew that going in.”

The Vikings then pulled away in the second half en route to a second consecutive trip to the state final and setting up a rematch of last year’s game with Murphy.

“We didn’t recover and they (Vikings) grinded us down the whole second half,” Schwartz said.

And while the end result was not what the Devilpups wanted, Lejeune players knew they were a good team this season that just ran into a formable foe.

“We had a great season,” DiCenso said. “We did everything we could. We deserved to be out here.”

Richardson agreed.

“The mentality we had this season was that we had to win. Actually our mentality was to get the championship and get a ring,” Richardson said. “But things don’t go as planned. We were stopped short, but we worked hard.”